Who is referd to as the father of plant geography?

Answer 1

Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859)

In 1799, Prussian scientist and explorer Alexander von Humboldt set sail for South America. Among his chief accomplishments over this five year, 6000 mile journey were: The accurate remapping of the Americas, setting an altitude record (and inspiring generations of climbers after) with the volcano Chimborazo, and the education of America and Europe about the unique cultures of the people native to Latin and South America. Concerning natural science, Humboldt's contributions are more than vast - his discoveries and influences span Biology, geology, geography, astronomy, and climatology to name only a few.

During his voyage, Humboldt collected and sent back to Europe more than 60,000 plant species, more than 3,000 of them then unknown to European botanists. During his five years of extensive examination and collection, Humboldt made note that many species found in Europe where also evident in the Americas - thus he became the first to systematically study the role factors like altitude and geology affect plant life (the branch of science called plant geography). Although similarities were obvious, plant and animal diversity was also well noted by Humboldt in his observations and specimen collections. His work showed that differences in climate from one continent to the next were not enough to explain such extreme differences in the flora and fauna - a precursor to and heavy influence to Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.

Answer 2

The father of plant geography is commonly considered to be Alexander von Humboldt. He was a German scientist and explorer who made significant contributions to the study of plants and their distribution around the world. His work laid the foundation for the field of plant geography.